My readers should all be on board now with my intention to watch all of the Harry Potter movies on the big screen in the run up to the release of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2. And as the point of this blog is to review every movie I see this year at the cinema, that means I will be reviewing every Harry Potter film too.
Today's film was the one I was most looking forward to as it's my favourite of the franchise. Sorry if that's given the game away before I've begun my review but I'm finding it difficult to contain my excitement at being able to review Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. You see, while I saw Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone out of curiosity, and saw Harry Potter and The Chamber Of Secrets simply because I wanted to know what happened next, I wasn't all that fussed about seeing Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban first time around. I'd finished working at the cinema by then, and whereas I'd seen the first two Harry Potter films on my own, usually after my shift, I only saw Prisoner Of Azkaban on the insistence of my older brother.
It turns out that Prisoner Of Azkaban was the film that made me go from a curious film fan to a Harry Potter fan. So thanks bro, I owe you for that one.
In the third installment of the Potter saga, Harry is again in grave danger, this time by an escapee of Azkaban Prison. Who Harry is told, betrayed his parents and now intends to murder him. Not exactly thrilled with this prospect, Harry heads back to Hogwarts where he believes he will be safe. After all, the school is being guarded by Dementors, cloaked guards sent from Azkaban to search for the escaped prisoner, Sirius Black (Gary Oldman). However, the Dementors seem to have an unhealthy fascination with Harry and he must learn how to fight them off. At the same time Harry discovers that Sirius is in fact his godfather, and he must come to terms with the fact that his parents closest friend betrayed them to the Dark Lord.
As with each Harry Potter book, the films get darker and handle more adult subject matters with each passing year. I think the reason Prisoner Of Azkaban is my favourite is that it blends the darkness and the light so perfectly. I think this film makes me laugh the most of all the Potter movies, despite the seriousness of the plot. But it also makes me cry which not many of the other Potter movies manage (we're discounting my teariness during Philosopher's Stone as that was out of sadness for the films ending).
Prisoner Of Azkaban also introduces three of my favourite characters - Sirius Black, superbly played by Gary Oldman, Professor Lupin played by David Thewlis (the first time I actually liked him in a film) and Professor Trelawney played so brilliantly by Emma Thompson. She is by far and away the funniest character in the film and lightens up proceedings a treat. This installment also sees a change in one of the most familiar faces of the established characters as Michael Gambon takes on the role of Dumbledore. This was due to the unfortunate passing of Richard Harris, who played the character in the first two films. At first I found it quite hard to get on board with this as Gambon is a very different actor to Harris, whereas Harris was lovable and frail, Gambon is quite a bit more authoritative and stern. But his version of Dumbledore also seems a bit more scatty and for that reason he is equally beloved by fans.
The fact that films based on what is essentially a series of kids books could gain a cast as grand as this speaks volumes about the quality of the writing. The characters are so rich, with such detailed backgrounds that no matter how brief an appearance they make, they leave a deep impression on us, the audience.
As close to perfect as Harry Potter gets. 9.5 out of 10.
Viewing Date - 10th July 2011
UK Release Date - 31st May 2004
Cast Overview:
Daniel Radcliffe ~ Harry Potter
Rupert Grint ~ Ron Weasley
Emma Watson ~ Hermione Granger
Matthew Lewis ~ Neville Longbottom
Tom Felton ~ Draco Malfoy
Devon Murray ~ Seamus Finnigan
James Phelps ~ Fred Weasley
Oliver Phelps ~ George Weasley
Chris Rankin ~ Percy Weasley
Bonnie Wright ~ Ginny Weasley
Julie Walters ~ Molly Weasley
Mark Williams ~ Arthur Weasley
Gary Oldman ~ Sirius Black
David Thewlis ~ Professor Remus Lupin
Timothy Spall ~ Peter Pettigrew
Fiona Shaw ~ Aunt Petunia Dursley
Richard Griffiths ~ Uncle Vernon Dursley
Harry Melling ~ Dudley Dursley
Robbie Coltrane ~ Rubeus Hagrid
Michael Gambon ~ Professor Albus Dumbledore
Maggie Smith ~ Professor Minerva McGonagall
Alan Rickman ~ Professor Severus Snape
Emma Thompson ~ Professor Sybil Trelawney
David Bradley ~ Argus Filch
Director ~ Alfonso Cuaron
Writer(s) ~ J.K. Rowling (Novel) and Steve Kloves (Screenplay)
Any time, fella.
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